Internet Marketing Resources

Marketing your business online can be a challenge at first, but there are some great tools and resources to help you. There are so many that sometimes it can be overwhelming to know which ones to use. I’ve listed below the best internet marketing resources available, and I know this because they are the ones that I use myself!

Note that the links below are affiliate links, which pay me a small commission if you use them without costing you anything more – this helps me to offset the costs of running this site so that I can continue to provide more helpful information for you (in fact, if you have questions about using any of the services or resources below, feel free to contact me!)

Websites & SEO

Domain Name Registration: Every business website should be hosted on its own domain (e.g., www.yourbusinessname.com). The domain name registration service that I use is Namecheap, which is reliable, inexpensive and easy to use.

Web Hosting: To host your own website, you’ll need a hosting service. This site, as well as my other websites, run on Bluehost. It’s the best hosting service to get you started, since it’s easy to set up and inexpensive. You can also host multiple sites on one account, which is convenient in case you decide to add another website in the future.

Studiopress: Hands-down, the best source for WordPress themes is StudioPress Themes. Why? The reasons are many: it’s optimized for SEO, it is mobile responsive so that your site can be viewed on different devices, it integrates the best website security features. Oh, and it’s easy-to-use and can be used to create great-looking websites. If you’re a developer, I highly recommend it. If you’re not a developer, ask your developer to use this for your website. I use it for all of my websites and wouldn’t use anything else.

Content Strategy

If you read one book about content strategy, Content Strategy for the Web should be it. It is a clear and easy-to-understand book that will help you to understand content strategy and its role in your business marketing. I found myself jotting down notes and ideas as I read this book, and it’s one that I’ve referred to regularly. One of the biggest benefits that I found from reading this book is that it gave me a process and framework to use to develop a content strategy for my clients and my own business.

In marketing, you often hear the recommendation to tell your story, but it’s never quite explained how you should actually go about doing that. Winning the Story Wars solves that problem. Using ideas about the hero’s journey along with extensive marketing examples, it shows how you can connect with your audience by making your customers the hero and positioning your brand to help them achieve their goals. While this is not specifically about internet marketing, it will help you to clarify the message that you’re trying to convey throughout all of the online marketing.